2 New Middle Grade Novels from Sky Pony Press - The Last Cherry Blossom and A Blind Guide to Stinkville!

This August, Sky Pony Press is pleased to announce the publication of 2 amazing middle grade novels! {Books provided for review/feature consideration}

Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between {Be Chic Literate}

Book provided for review/feature consideration

I'm really diving head first in to the world of Young Adult Fiction and I'm still discovering all of the niches within the genre, so I was happy to find Jennifer E. Smith's latest, Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between on my doorstep so I can wade into the contemporary waters! I'll share the synopsis below...

Be Chic Literate: 100 Days of Cake and The Flip Side

My daughters and I have embarked on our own summer reading program - we each set a goal of how many books we wanted to read this summer {I picked 25, Peyton - 30, Little Miss Lo - 40, and my oh so ambitious Kenziekins decided that we should read her 60}, the person who meets their goal first will get the ultimate bragging rights and I'll buy them a book of their choice when the competition ends {right before they go back to school on August 8}. Lately I've found that I'm more attracted to titles in the YA genre, so I think Peyton and I may have to toss a coin to see who gets to read which of these new books from Simon & Schuster first! {Books provided for review/feature consideration}

Fantastic Summer Reads from Simon & Schuster

My daughters and I have embarked on our own summer reading program - we each set a goal of how many books we wanted to read this summer {I picked 25, Peyton - 30, Little Miss Lo - 40, and my oh so ambitious Kenziekins decided that we should read her 60}, the person who meets their goal first will get the ultimate bragging rights and I'll buy them a book of their choice when the competition ends {right before they go back to school on August 8}. Considering our collective involvement in Kenzie reaching her goal, it has been very important to us to find books that will entertain us all - in comes these perfect selections from Simon & Schuster! {Books provided for review/feature consideration}

New Releases from Picador Books!

My goal this summer is to read 20 books  - and Picador Books is helping me reach my goal big time! I just received this awesome box of book mail from them and now I can't decide which one to read first! {Books provided for review/feature consideration}

Be Chic Literate: A Study In Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro

A Study In Charlotte
Series: Book 1 in The Charlotte Holmes Trilogy
Pages: 336 Pages
Genre: Young Adult, Suspense, Mystery
Publisher: HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen Books, March 1, 2016

Links: Goodreads // Amazon
Overall Rating: 4.75/5

*Library Book*

A Tribute to Her Father - Patricia Gucci – In The Name of Gucci: A Memoir (Be Chic Literate)

In the Name of Gucci: A Memoir, by Patricia Gucci (Crown Archetype) is the first book written by a direct descendant of Guccio Gucci—Patricia’s grandfather and the company’s founder. It chronicles her life as the secret love child of Aldo Gucci and Bruna—the woman he fell in love with when she was just eighteen. Woven throughout the book is the relationship between Aldo and Patricia Gucci, the first woman in the family to be elected to the Gucci board of directors and his sole universal heir. {Book provided for review/feature consideration}

Be Chic Literate-Father's Day Edition (A Father's Day Gift Guide)

It's been a few years since my last one, so I'm excited to share a bookish Father's Day gift guide - featuring some new releases from Saga Press that are perfect for your sci-fi loving dad! {Review copies provided for coverage consideration}

Summer Reading for Middle Grades! {Wunderkind Reads}

My daughters and I have embarked on our own summer reading program - we each set a goal of how many books we wanted to read this summer {I picked 25, Peyton - 30, Little Miss Lo - 40, and my oh so ambitious Kenziekins decided that we should read her 60}, the person who meets their goal first will get the ultimate bragging rights and I'll buy them a book of their choice when the competition ends {right before they go back to school on August 8}. Here are a few selections from Simon & Schuster and Sky Pony Press that we've added to London's TBR stack! {Books provided for review/feature consideration}

New Children's Books from Sky Pony Press! (Preview)

The last couple of months, Sky Pony Press/Skyhorse Publishing has released some wonderfully fun and entertaining picture books! The girls and I just received a few for review and we can't wait to dig in!

Celebrate National Library Week & Drop Everything and Read Month with Princess Cupcakes Jones

Celebrate National Library Week and Drop Everything and Read Month! We are being encouraged to put our daily chores/tasks to the side for an hour a day and read with our children. Reading with your child is not only an important part of your child's mental development but your child in year's to come will remember those special moments you took with them to read together. {Product provided for review/feature consideration}

Disney Poster-A-Page Series - A Great Gift For Your Littles and You!

Just in time to prep the kiddies for the next chapter in the  Star Wars saga  {we can't possibly be the only household ECSTATIC for the release of "The Force Awakens"}, Time Home Entertainment Inc. has brought one of the biggest movie franchises of all time to life with a new book from the Disney Poster-A-Page series.  {Product sent for review feature/consideration}

Cozy's Complete Guide to Girls' Hair

Being a part of a household that boasts 4 females, you can guarantee that hair is a topic that comes up quite frequently.  While I'm adept at the care and maintenance of hair (which is good thing because between my 3 girls and I there is A LOT of hair to go around), styling is an area that I could use some help in.

When it comes to styling my own hair, I have a bit of a "less is more" attitude - whether it is straight or curly, it's either down or in a ponytail or braid. Yep, that's the extent of my styling prowess. When Peyton was little, I could do a little something something to her hair, but nothing elaborate. At some point, due to outside interference, I sort of gave up on doing her hair and left it to other party's to tend to. I was responsible for London's hair until she was around one and a half. That's when we discovered that she had curly hair and the hubby took it upon himself to care for and style her hair (to ensure that it always met his very particular standards). He has become so skilled at styling her hair (not a day goes by where she is not complimented on her curly q's), I don't even bother to attempt to style anybody's hair but my own and Kensington's. Until now...

Be Chic Literate-Father's Day Edition (A Father's Day Gift Guide)

Father’s Day is fast approaching and here are three great gift suggestions any dad is sure to love!

May Favorites: Mini Me Edition!

My darling girl :)

I talk a lot about my youngest daughters {probably because they are at home with me ALL DAY!}, but I also have a 12 {going on 13 very soon} year old daughter named Peyton. She's beautiful, smart, thoughtful, and oh so creative! She loves to read, music, beauty, and fashion - so she may not look a bit like me, but in a lot of ways, she really is a "mini" me {I put mini in quotes because at this point she's actually taller than me}! I thought it would be fun to let her be more involved with the blog {in hopes that will quench her desire to be active on social media outlets that I think she is SOOOO not ready for} by doing book and product reviews when appropriate and sharing her monthly favorites. So without further ado, here are Peyton's May favorites...

My Week on Instagram (Kinda)! (1-26-13)

I've been struck down (try saying that without hearing Michael Jackson in your head) by the dreaded Sydney Norovirus this week, so my life has been pretty uneventful (and verging on downright miserable) for the past week or so. It started out nice enough; the hubby, the girls, and I all trekked down to my brother's house for a barbecue. We had a really good time with him and some friends and my parents, and The Lil Bits (aka Kenzie and Lo) got to meet and play with a little puppy for the first time. It was love at first site (which we had to quickly tamper down, 'cause I they are so not ready for a pet)...

All the girls were in love with the little baby puppy (and I have to admit, I was a bit smitten too). It was quite funny watching Kenzie interact with the little bitty thing-she's very...aggressive. But no puppies were harmed!

There's Nothing Like a Good Friend with Good Taste! AKA- My Swap with Cafe Fashionista

My lovely, lovely FIB (Friend In Blogging-yeah, I think I just coined a term), Erika Sorocco, or Cafe Fashionista and I decided to do a SWAP!!! You know, like the ones that YouTube beauty gurus do? I just love those videos and I couldn't think of anyone better to do it with than Erika! She has been a loyal friend and supporter wince I began blogging, way back when. I read her posts almost daily (and backtrack when I happen to miss a few) and I always try to take the time to comment (that's one way we bloggers show support for each other). She has impeccable style, incredible taste, and like me she's obsessed with reading, writing, fashion, and coffee! Though we have never met, I have developed a deep affection for Erika over the years, and I am so pleased that we were able to do this swap together.

So, on to the swap! I approached Erika with the idea of a swap a few weeks back-that we set an agreed upon price limit and then exchange packages of goodies and share it with our readers. I suggested that for us, instead of focusing on just cosmetics, we could include books, accessories, nail polish, and coffee. She loved the idea and away we went!

Initially we set a price limit of $100, but we both soon found that that was not quite enough money. We were having too much fun shopping for each other! One of the awesome things about doing what I do, is that I'm exposed to such great brands and products and I was super eager to share my loves with my friend. But a lot of my faves are not on the budget friendly side (honestly, I purchased two items and was well over $50), so we went back to the drawing board, first agreeing on $150, but finally settling on $200.

As exciting as it was to be shopping for Erika, I was even more excited about what she was getting for me! Here is the package she sent: